About Our Beta Reading Services

The Young Writers Initiative is dedicated to helping authors through their writing journey. Beta Reading can be very hard to manage, and at times, can get frustrating. We want to ease that burden on you and have you doing what you do best... writing. 
We have many options for our beta reading journey, and as usual, it is completely free.

​What is it like having TYWI help you with your beta reading process?

We want to make beta reading as simple and stressless as possible. To run down, working with TYWI is a hands off experience, but you still cultivate a great relationship with the beta readers. We handle the administrative tasks: sending out emails, managing your beta readers, collecting responses, setting deadlines, being the "hardliner." Instead, you get to be the friend, making the forms or sending us the questions you want asked while you can talk to your beta readers with no tension. As a perk to your beta readers, they get volunteer hours for beta reading your work, making it a win-win situation for everyone. 

How much does this cost?

The only thing we charge is a review after your experience is over. TYWI is volunteer based, so we do not charge anything. We do hope you will fill our our surveys and give us feedback so we can improve our services every time.

What are my options?

Chapter-by-Chapter
Chunking
Full Manuscript read through
With/Without Commenting
With/Without Form
With/Without Discussion
TYWI Beta Readers vs. Personal Beta Readers
With/Without Boot Camp

Chapter-By-Chapter Beta Reading

Do you want to have specific feedback on each chapter? If so, this is the plan for you. The chapter by chapter beta reading is a great way to get all your advice in a timely matter and get to see what beta readers think at each point in the story.

Pros: 

• This allows more pointed feedback that you can use, and quicker.
• Recommended for writers of early drafts
• Organized way to compile all your information without being overwhelmed
• Spreads the work for your beta readers out over a long time
• Makes it easier for us to give your volunteers their hours

Cons:

• May not convey the actual effect of reading the book through
• Not recommended for people in the final drafts of their books that just want to gauge the reader experience
• You will have to create questions for each chapter prior to starting the process
• Sometimes beta readers will have to skip weeks

If chapter by chapter editing doesn't sound like something for you, we have plenty of more options. 

Chunking Beta Reading

Do you want some specific feedback but have readers read more naturally? Chunking might be the option for you. Basically, you would split up your manuscript into "chunks." Readers would read these chunks over a few weeks. After they read them, they would answer the questions you've posed or have a discussion with you about the book through a Zoom meeting or a chat.

​Pros:

• While you have less feedback per chapter through specific questions, you get to have best of both chapter-by-chapter and full manuscript. You get the effect of them reading chapters at their own pace and naturally, but you also get specific feedback on each chunk. 
• You don't have to prepare as many chapters
• Your volunteers have a more flexible schedule

Cons:

• You won't get feedback as quickly as chapter-by-chapter
• You may get less specific feedback
• Recommended for writers submitting middle to late stage drafts

Full Manuscript Beta Reading

The full manuscript beta reader would read your manuscript at their pace within the time frame we all set with no interruptions by forms. You would send your beta readers the full manuscript and try to emulate the feeling of reading the book.

Pros:

• You get the full feeling of how readers will respond to your book
• You will get a full review of your book from the beta readers after
• Recommended for authors in the late stages of the manuscript
• No distraction for your beta readers
• A much less structured environment

Cons:

• Unless you ask specific questions in the final form, the likelihood of receiving detailed and specific feedback will be low 
• Since it is less structured, it is harder for us to track volunteer hours
• Less interaction with beta readers

With Commenting

With commenting is pretty simple. If you want readers to react with your work while they're reading, you would have to share your manuscript through Google Docs or online platforms like Wattpad. This is a feature we can only offer if you share your manuscript through a format that they can easily comment on. If you do not want random commenting on your work, then you can elect to have this off.

With Form

Do you want to have your beta readers answer questions giving feedback to your after each chapter, chunk, or full read through? Then, elect to have the form. Disclaimer, you will have to create the form (it is your manuscript so you know what questions to ask), so if you do not want to do that, you can elect to not have a form.

With Discussion

This feature is exclusive. If you have volunteered for at least 10 hours with TYWI, you will have the option to have a discussion feature. You can have Zoom meetings with your beta readers and ask them some live questions. We can also help you with sifting through discussion, and then talking to the board members about specific ways to improve your novel. 

TYWI Beta Readers vs. Your Beta Readers

TYWI gives you the opportunity to have our volunteer beta readers beta read your manuscript for you, or you can bring in your own beta readers. If you already have beta readers but are struggling to keep up with the administrative side of things, bring in your own beta readers! They would get volunteer hours and TYWI benefits. TYWI beta readers are trained through our Boot Camp Program, but sometimes, we will have a shortage of beta readers for your genre. If you know people that want to beta read for you, but want less stress, we'd love to help you out while you have the comfort of knowing that people you know are still beta reading for you, even if you don't have to play the "bad cop".

• If you bring in your own beta readers, they do not have to go through boot camp, but we highly recommend it so that they can give you the best feedback they can give. It also gives us time to plan the beta reading process so everything goes smoothly. 

Are you ready to improve your writing?

To apply for your manuscript to be beta read, click the button below and select the options you would like. 

I need Beta Readers!

Beta Reading Directors:
Jayleen Vilma
​Jaidah-Leigh Wyatt
Ayra Amin (Intern)
*If you have additional questions please email them to jayleen@tywi.org or jaidah@tywi.org